In 1993, Major League Baseball added two National League teams to the fold, in brand new parts of the country. Florida gained their first franchise with the Marlins, and Colorado was gifted the Rockies.
There was some early success in Florida, seeing the Marlins win the World Series just a few seasons later in 1997, and then repeating again in 2003. Who could argue with those results? Some fan bases wait 30, 40 or 50 years for a championship, but these fans in Florida were able to enjoy two within a decade.
The same cannot be said for the fans in the Rocky Mountains.
Quickly known as a hitter’s park in the high altitudes of Denver, Colorado became a hub for some of the games most accomplished offensive stars. The early seasons saw Todd Helton emerge as a Hall of Fame caliber bat, becoming a 5-time all-star, and leading the MLB with a .372 batting average in the year 2000. Larry Walker, another Hall of Famer, came over from Montreal to join Helton, where he would go on to win the MVP in 1997. These prolific bats put up unprecedented numbers during their Rockies tenure, and some may assume this led to success at an organization level. This is certainly not the case.
The Rockies, since their inception in 1993, have made the postseason just 5 times. Each of these post season berths have come via the National League Wild Card.
Most of these appearances in the playoffs have ended in a quick fashion, often being swept out of the divisional round. The one outlier is their torrid run in 2007, which saw them run through September nearly undefeated, sweeping past every National League team in the postseason. Unfortunately, they met Boston in the World Series, and their Cinderella Story was crushed in just 4 games.
Flash forward to more recent times. The Rockies last made the postseason in 2018, where they beat the freefalling Chicago Cubs in a tightly contested Wild Card Game. After that victory, they were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers and MVP Christian Yelich.
Since then, they have not come within 17 games of the National League West Division title, finishing 4th or 5th in the West in each of those seasons. The thin Colorado air has seen the Rockies pitching staff finish with a team ERA of over 5.00 in each season but one since 2019. The offense has not been bad, finishing amongst the middle of the pack, and in some instances top 10 in the Majors, in most categories (although inflated by their home splits). The altitude of Coors Field has been a blessing and a curse.
Pitchers do not want to risk their careers pitching in an environment that will inflate their stats. That is understandable. All-Star position players, aside from Kris Bryant, have avoided signing there, too. The organization, when it has lucked into a superstar, such as Nolan Arenado, has not been able to resign them or trade talent for them. The Rockies did acquire Austin Gomber, who has been a serviceable starter for them, just not worth Nolan Arenado (as of yet).
Flash forward to 2024. The Rockies are among the worst teams in baseball, sitting at a paltry 23-43, sitting 17 games out of 1st place, not even halfway through June. They have had some flashes of success, such as a shocking 7 game win streak in the middle of May. This streak, however, was bookended by two 4-game losing streaks.
Let us move on to some good news. Shortstop, and former highly touted prospect, Ezequiel Tovar, has been a bright stop for the club in 2024. Tovar, at only 22 years old, has 10 home runs and a .293 batting average through June 10th. He also has only made 3 errors from a very demanding position, which in itself is impressive.
Elias Díaz, who is currently hitting over .300 as the Rockies starting catcher, has been another impressive part of the Colorado offense. Díaz, who was an all-star last season for the Rockies, has put it all together so far in his age-33 season.
As much as pitching has been a sore subject for Colorado, they have two pitchers who have posted sub 4.00 ERAs (Earned Run Average) with decent WHIPs (Walks/Hits per Innings Pitched) to go along with them. Former Cleveland Guardian, Cal Quantrill, and former St. Louis Cardinal (and the main prize of the Arenado deal) Austin Gomber have put together solid starts to 2024.
The key to success in Denver starts with making the Rockies a destination. If players (pitchers especially) view Colorado as a destination that wants to (and can) win, it may start to turn the tide. The more success that occurs at an individual level, the more talented players may be willing to make the leap. Other than that, the Rockies need to make it work through the draft.
The draft focus may need to shift for Colorado, as they have only one pitcher in their top 12 prospects, albeit a top 40 prospect in baseball in Chase Dollander. Currently in A+, Dollander may have a long way to go, but being a top 10 pitching prospect in baseball can certainly be a step in the right direction.
Success, in a lot of aspects, breeds more success. The Rockies may have to continue to look internally before being able to attract externally.
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